Category Archives: News

Hey all! Happy respective celebrations and such! Seomra Spraoi will be closed on Tuesday 23rd for the holidays. On Monday 22nd, there will be the final Open Cinema before the New Year. The lovely festive ‘Miracle on 34th Street’ will be showing. It will be officially open on the 31st at 9pm for New Year Karaoke Massacre , so start warming up those voice boxes! Have a great holiday and see you all in the New Year!

Are you interested in squatting in Dublin? Do you want to meet and network with other squatters? Are you looking for other people to squat with? Do you have questions about the law, or other practical aspects of squatting? Do you need help finding an empty building? Then you should come to Practical Squatting Nights in Seomra Spraoi this Thursday!

Background

Over the last three or four years, a squatting community in Dublin has grown and established itself to a point where it now has several long-term â€œestablishedâ€ squats, a good network of support, and a wealth of knowledge and experience of the practical aspects of squatting. It recently put on the 2014 Dublin International Squatters Convergence, a four-day event which an estimated 100+ squatters from abroad attended. But up until now, there have been few avenues for people who want to get involved in squatting who don’t already have connections to the community.

To tackle this problem, many squatting communities in other cities run regular practical squatting nights for newcomers to squatting. These events offer a venue for new squatters to meet other squatters, potential squatmates and pick up advice and practical help.

Practical Squatting Nights in Seomra Spraoi hopes to address this problem by bringing practical squatting nights to the squatting community in Dublin! There will be a practical squatting night in Seomra Spraoi on the third Thursday of every month, from 6pmâ€“8pm. The first one is this Thursday, the 20th November!

We’ve found a new space, please drop in! We got the keys on Saturday and are moving in over the next week or so, and we hope to be back open again as soon as possible. Our new space is at 10 Belvedere Court, near Mountjoy Square in D1. Call in if you’re in the neighbourhood and have a look at the new place!

It’s been a slow process finding a new Seomra but we are close. More details about that will be coming soon so watch this space for updates.

With each move we have grown and have seen more people taking an interest and getting involved in our project. Mary’s Abbey saw a huge surge in involvement. We were surprised and inspired by the diversity and imagination that was present in the wide range of projects that grew up in the little gap in Dublin’s concrete that Seomra Spraoi provided. Mary’s Abbey wasn’t just a place for meetings or having a good time at the weekend. It became a focal point for action, a place to perform, a space to be creative, and perhaps most importantly of all, a place for people of different backgrounds and nationalities to discuss and have lively arguments about anything, from politics to the music of Stevie Wonder.

The reactions that users of the space had to our shutting down re-asserted the desperate need for such a place, and our duty to keep the project alive. We were rarely short of people to help out or of donations to pay the rent and the bills. We are committed to rebuilding the project and we encourage new people, and people who were involved in the project before, to come and support us now. We say this every time we start in a new premises but it’s true â€” now is a great time to get involved. A new building provides a new opportunity for people to begin with something of a blank slate.

It’s been seven months since Seomra Spraoi closed its doors at Mary’s Abbey for the last time. The drama and disappointment that came at the end of that amazing experience created a space for reflection. Since then we have been getting back to our roots and re-evaluating the project. A new organisational structure has been put in place. General collective meetings will now be held monthly with four working groups feeding into that meeting. Each working group is taking on specific tasks related to different aspects of the project. These working groups give people a chance to give a more focused and less time-consuming commitment to the project.

The next general meeting is on Thursday the 3rd of July at 7:30 (venue to be confirmed). Alternatively you can email us on seomraspraoi@gmail.com if you are interested in working with us on the project.

Seomra Spraoi is continuing to look for a new home, if any of you are aware of somewhere suitable in Dublin please let us know. Weekly meetings take place at 7.30pm on Thursdays – the location varies so get in touch for directions.

Similarly, if you are involved in any groups or activities which have used Seomra Spraoi in the past send on any details of your current activities. We can put them up here on the blog and let other Seomra Spraoi friends know what’s cool and happening in the city!

The Seomra Spraoi collective continue to meet weekly on Thursdays at 7.30pm. As we have now moved from Mary’s Abbey, there is no fixed meeting place. Anyone interested in attending please get in touch and we will notify you with regards to meeting locations. Alternatively keep an eye on the events calendar on indymedia.ie.

We are looking at a number of different possible new locations and hope to re-open as soon as possible. Now, more than ever, all help and assistance is needed.

Seomra Spraoi (& the entire building in 4 Marys Abbey) was closed down by the Fire Authority last night.

At 8pm around 10 Police and 4 Fire Officers arrived to inspect the space. Less than 10 people were present in Seomra Spraoi. The Fire Authority stated that the building did not meet fire safety regulations and closed the building. An hour was negotiated with the Fire Authority to move out any of our stuff we might need whilst we donâ€™t have access to the building. The Fire Authority were, supportive and apologetic, but ultimately had no choice but to close us down.

Phonecalls went out and around 30 people supporters arrived within the hour in solidarity and to help move out stuff we might need.

Around 20 people from the Seomra Spraoi Collective reconvened for an extraordinary general meeting (at midnight). We see this as a temporary setback and obviously agree that weâ€™d like the building to be fire safe. We have booked a fire consultant to see what work needs to be done and will be working with the Fire Authority to get the building re-opened as soon as possible.

Weâ€™ll be having a public meeting on Thursday to keep all the users of the space informed on whatâ€™s going on. Details of time and venue will be posted on Indymedia.

â€¦ we got the keys!!!

Drum roll please â€¦ Seomra Spraoi has a new home. It has big rooms, small rooms, loads of space, absolutely gigantic potential.

If there was ever a time to get involved, to start a project or just to help out it is NOW!

This weekâ€™s Seomra Spraoi meeting will take place today, Thursday at 7.30pm in the brand new fantastic fabulous, potential filled Seomra Spraoi. Everyone very welcome, you should at least come to check the new place out.

4 Mary’s Abbey, Dublin 1

Directions: coming from Capel St bridge, turn left at the Boar’s Head off Capel St, large grey-blue building on your right, old Melody Maker building. It is across the road from the â€œCapel Buildingâ€ and Rhodes restaurant. It is on the Luas track.

Come along, get involved, there are endless possibilities â€¦ it really is up to you all!